I was speaking with the brilliant linguist and author of Don't Think of an Elephant, George Lakoff this weekend and he got me thinking.
Every one of the president's most moving speeches -- the speeches where he inspired and lifted our country up -- had one thing in common. Speeches like his 2004 convention speech, the speech on race and the speech in Osawatomie, Kansas all spoke with moral clarity about who we are, about deep American values.
Yes, they talked about issues, but the issues were an outgrowth from the call to our character.
So, with respect, Mr. President, when you walk on stage in the next debate I would like to hear you say that the choice is not just about whose tax plan you like or who has the better health care strategy. It's much more fundamental than that. This is a choice about our national character.
Perhaps you can say this:
"Like Governor Romney, I love this nation. You, Governor, believe in the individual and in freedom. So do I. And I also believe that in order for the individual to exercise that freedom fully, in order for the individual to be personally responsible and successful, in order for that to happen, together we have to lay a certain foundation.
So that great small business owner that you talk about?
We all contributed to make sure she was educated at the public schools and public university. That we all participated doesn't take anything away from her individual accomplishments. It's okay, really. We're proud to have helped. We all, together as Americans, invested to build the public libraries and the roads and the national parks. We have organized ourselves, as a country, in a way that allows us to pool our resources to make sure that we all have the chance to be successful and to exercise that liberty. It's who we are as a nation.
My God, it makes me proud."
Originally aired on The War Room with Jennifer Granholm. The War Room airs weeknights at 10 p.m. EST on Current TV. Follow Jennifer Granholm on Facebook and Twitter, and The War Room on Facebook and Twitter.
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That could be a key distinction for what I call the "Trailer Park future lottery millionaire republicans" who hold so tightly to the notion that it's OK to tax them at the higher rates now (because they don't know they are being taxed more) but "keep your gubment hands off my super lotto mega ball winnings when I become a millionaire." (and they probably don't even play the lottery, which makes this voting block even scarier)
This election poses a fundamental choice to America. And they are right. America is struggling to pull out of its deepest economic crisis in 80 years. The past four years have unleashed a raw, bitter war over economic class, our social obligation to the poor and sick, and the basic sustainability of the modern state that has existed since Franklin Roosevelt.
Instead of integrity and honesty, republicans state matter-of-factly that they plan to etch-a-sketch away what they had previously promised and they have no intention of being held accountable by facts. Instead of compassion and generosity, today's republicans scorn those in need of a helping hand and arrogantly brag about material "success" at any cost justifying their grab for more power.
Instead of respecting others, institutions, and traditions, republicans seek to destroy democracy through voter purging and fake voter applications. Their candidates Romney and Ryan refuse to provide 10 years of tax returns as is the tradition. In fact, Ann Romney declares "you people" have gotten enough information, Romney says 47% of Americans are leeches, and Ryan says 60% of people are takers. They have no respect for the American people or the democratic-republic form of government.
This election can destroy America, or reaffirm the values we have lived with and fought for.
Thank you Governor!
Unfortunately, when I was living in the Homeless Assistance Center shelter for over 2 months, I met quite a few who were there to take advantage of the system, and stay on the welfare for as long as possible while they insisted on being kept in their alcoholic careers. 'Oh, I've been on food stamps my whole life', one of them admitted to me in a candid moment.
As a recipient of public assistance/food stamps for a short time, it was heartening, on the one hand, to befriend those in the system whose sole purpose was to get back on their feet as soon as possible, and disheartening to meet people who wanted to stretch out their time to figure out their lifes direction, and others still, just to putz around and do nothing. The welfare system is allowed, not just for rich and poor, but for those who wish to leach off the system as much as possible.
You are over generalizing the situation of people who take up public assistance...its not as clear as black or white...but there are shades of grey there. I'll say this, that the tax and donor paid Homeless Assistance Center/Huizenga Center was way better managed and cared for than the Salvation Army, whose centers where very dirty and dingy, and the food can make you into a diabetic in a short time.
1. Ask which Mitt is in the house
2. Paint Rmoney as the "working digits" facilitator of the dreaded 112th Tea Bag congress. If this occurs it will be the 112th's record that Mitt will have to answer to. Or disavow.
It would also be a good idea for the president to spend less time making up stories about his opponent and just tell us how he has learnned from his mistakes and what he will do differently in the next 4 years. So far, all we can depend on from Obama is more of the same (and that would be very bad for the country).
President Obama could also level with Americans as to why he failed to cut the deficit in half as he promised, why he continues his deficit spending (over $1Trillion each and every year in office), why his projections for cutting unemployment after spedning $800 Billion in stimulus failed, and why he has chose to divide the country instead of healing it as he promised.
This would be a good way for him to clear the air and then he can begin to talk about moral choices.
A lowering tide lowers all boats.
Trickle down government
Only government knows best for me and you.
DMV forms for cancer screenings.
Political class above other classes. People can watch John F. Kerry fly over their government issue green tents.
An Ayn Rand novel incarnate. Greed of government. Elite to control.
That's what liberalism is all about.
Sadly, that tactic is being emulated by the Romney/Ryan duo.
Tell a lie often enough and it will become "truth"....ala Goebels.
What Obama should have said: About 45,000 people die each year because they don't have health insurance and are afraid to go to the doctor or the emergency room because of the cost. If they do go to the emergency room, the uninsured get a bill for four to five times more than insurance companies pay for the same emergency care, and they are hounded by bill collectors until they either cough up the money or until they are forced to declare bankruptcy. Most of the people who declare bankruptcy because of medical bills (the principal cause of personal bankruptcy in America) have health insurance. Hospitals are only required to render emergency medical care, for a heart attack for example, but there's no access to lipid panels, stress tests or prescriptions for cholesterol medications that might help you avoid the heart attack in the first place. You cannot get chemotherapy in the emergency room nor can you get the tests that might detect the cancer at an early stage. The idea that emergency rooms provide universal health care is a lie of monumental proportions.